The Team

James studied Agriculture & Food Science at University of Nottingham before gaining an MSc in Rural Estate Management at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester and has been RICS qualified for 19 years.  He began his career with Strutt & Parker in Kent where he was involved in farm sales and estate management.  In 2007 he moved to Leicestershire from here he took up a Partner role with Smith Gore, managing estates in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, and then latterly as a Partner with Fisher German in Market Harborough. James also ran his own business, Rural Insight, for 7 years before teaming up with James Youatt to form Rural Insight Land & Development in 2023. 

Recent years involved a number of strategic estate reviews for landowners and Trustees, recommending and then implementing measures to maximise capital and revenue objectives.  As an RICS Register Valuer James regularly undertakes valuations of a variety of rural property types for retained clients, solicitors and accountants throughout the East Midlands.

James is married to Alice, an equine vet, and has two daughters, Isabel & Florence.

James studied at University of Central England and Harper Adams and has been in the industry for nearly 30 years, the majority of which was spent at a national property consultancy where he was a Partner and Director. In that time, he has been responsible for the sales of land for several thousands of new homes, predominately across the southeast of the country and more recently in the midlands.

Formally based in Sussex for most of his working life, James relocated to Rutland in 2020 and in 2023 formed Rural Insight Land & Development with James Brown. 

Outside of the office you will normally find James trying to stay on the back of his horse.

Emily deals with all aspects of our Land Management client accounts.  She is a full member of the Association of Accounting Technicians, and as well as managing the day-to-day bookkeeping, she is able to prepare period-end accounting statements.

Emily lives locally and her time out of the office is largely spent as a generous taxi service to her children and walking the dog.

After graduating from Oxford Brookes University in 2015 with a degree in Real Estate Management, Will spent over 8 years at Strutt & Parker in Guildford, the last 2 of these as Director. During this time, he worked on numerous projects for Estate Management clients where legacy was often an important objective when selling land for development purposes. Will has experience in disposing of sites from 6 family houses in urban areas to advising on potential new garden towns and villages. He joined the Rural Insight Land & Development Team in November 2023 having previously worked with James Youatt for 6 years.

When not in the office, Will is most likely to be involved in sport, albeit more so watching in recent years as opposed to playing!

Lisa joined RILD in June 2024 and works as Executive Assistant for the team dealing with anything and everything office/admin related.

Lisa has over twenty years’ experience working in PA/Secretarial roles supporting senior management in both education and law. Her most recent role was working as a Private Client Secretary specialising in Wills & Probate.

Lisa holds a BA Hons Degree in Heritage Studies and Geography.

In her spare time Lisa enjoys spending time with her two children, walks in the countryside, pilates and swimming.

After studying Rural Land Management at the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, Lucy graduated in 2022 and began her career at a national surveying firm specialising in Compulsory Purchase & Compensation. Lucy joined Rural Insight Land & Development in March 2025 to assist James Brown on Land Management related matters.

Lucy became a Fellow of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers in December 2023 and continues to work towards her Assessment of Professional Competence in order to become a member of the RICS.

Outside of work, Lucy enjoys running, country pursuits and in the summer months fishing for sea bass & mackerel in North Norfolk.